| 2008: Significant hike in demand for dollar at daily auction |
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April 1, 2008 Demand for the dollar was up in the Iraqi Central Bank's auction on Tuesday, registering at $159.170 million compared to $35.190 million on Monday, as life was back to normal in the Iraqi capital after clashes between governmental forces and Shiite militiamen came to an end. "The demand hit $17.170 million in cash and $142 million in money transfers outside the country, all covered by the bank at an exchange rate of 1,206 Iraqi dinars per dollar, unchanged for the second session in a row, " according to the central bank's daily bulletin which was received by Aswat al-Iraq- Voices of Iraq- (VOI). None of the 16 banks that participated in the auction offered to sell dollars. Speaking to VOI, Ali al-Yasseri, a trader, said that as life was back to normal in Baghdad and as more banks were able to attend today’s auction session, the overall size of demand for the dollar was up exceeding the 150 million ceiling for the first time in two months. Source: Voices of Iraq |